W Company is a white goods manufacturer that has been particularly hard hit by the recent recession. Faced with a dramatic fall in ordersand two years of losses, shareholder pressure has resulted in the early retirement of the Chief Executive and his replacement by JH, who has a track record of turning companies around. JH has, in the past, led different process design improvement initiatives including Business Process Re-engineering (BPR) and has used tools such as process maps (or charts). In an initial review, JH finds that W Solution Adoption of up-to-date supply chain management approaches to improve performance of W Company Innovations in Operations Management In recent years operations management has come to be seen by many as strategically important to the overall success of the business and a number of innovations have occurred including the shift from price-based operations to relational procurement and to a greater concern with supply chain management as part of a strategic process. Strategic importance of supply chain management While purchasing deals with the day to day buying of materials and equipment,.